Spreader for particulate material

Abstract

A spreader for spreading particulate material has a plurality of outlets transversely spaced-apart in a direction perpendicular to a direction of travel of the spreader. The outlets are configured to receive the material from a metering device and to dispense an amount of the material to mid-rows between crop rows on a field such that the plurality of outlets dispenses half the amount of material to an outermost mid-row compared to the amount of material dispensed to the other mid-rows. Also, the metering device may have two metering elements, which may be controlled to meter the material to only one side of the spreader. A centrally located outlet situated on a driving line of the spreader may receive material from both metering elements so that the centrally located nozzle can dispense the material whenever one or the other side of the spreader is not dispensing material.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A boom spreader for spreading particulate material on a field, the spreader comprising:
 a hopper configured to contain a particulate material; 
 a metering device comprising first and second independently controllable metering elements, each metering element receiving the particulate material from the hopper, and a gate box having a plurality of gates therein that receive the particulate material from the metering element; 
 a first boom and a second boom, the booms transversely extendible in opposite transverse directions substantially non-parallel to a direction of travel of the spreader and substantially non-perpendicular to a field; 
 a plurality of outlets transversely spaced-apart in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the spreader, the plurality of outlets comprising at least one first outermost outlet situated on the first boom, at least one second outermost outlet situated on the second boom and at least one center outlet situated over a travel line of the spreader, the plurality of outlets configured to receive the particulate material from the plurality of gates and to dispense an amount of the particulate material to mid-rows between crop rows on a field, the mid-rows comprising a center mid-row, a first outermost mid-row, a second outermost mid-row and at least two other mid-rows; 
 the at least one first outermost outlet dispensing half the amount of particulate material to the first outermost mid-row compared to the amount of particulate material dispensed to the at least two other mid-rows, and the at least one second outermost outlet dispensing half the amount of particulate material to the second outermost mid-row compared to the amount of particulate material dispensed to the at least two other mid-rows. 
 
     
     
       2. The spreader of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one first outermost outlet and the at least one center outlet receive particulate material from a single gate of the first metering element, the at least one first outermost outlet receiving half of the particulate material from the single gate of the first metering element to dispense half the amount of particulate material to the first outermost mid-row, and the at least one center outlet receiving another half of the particulate material from the single gate of the first metering element to dispense half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row,
 and wherein the at least one second outermost outlet and the at least one center outlet receive particulate material from a single gate of the second metering element, the at least one second outermost outlet receiving half of the particulate material from the single gate of the second metering element to dispense half the amount of particulate material to the second outermost mid-row, and the at least one center outlet receiving another half of the particulate material from the single gate of the second metering element to dispense half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row. 
 
     
     
       3. The spreader of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of outlets is configured to receive the particulate material from the plurality of gates through a plurality of air lines connecting the plurality of gates to the plurality of outlets, the particulate material being transported through the air lines by an air stream, and wherein the air lines from the single gates each split into two air lines to deliver the halves of the particulate material to the respective at least one outermost outlets and to the at least one center outlet. 
     
     
       4. The spreader of  claim 1 , wherein the metering elements comprise endless belts or sets of meter rollers or a combination of at least one endless belt and at least one set of meter rollers. 
     
     
       5. The spreader of  claim 1 , wherein the particulate material comprises a fertilizer. 
     
     
       6. A spreader for spreading particulate material on a field, the spreader comprising:
 a hopper configured to contain a particulate material; 
 a metering device configured to receive the particulate material from the hopper; 
 a plurality of outlets transversely spaced-apart in a direction perpendicular to a direction of travel of the spreader and configured to receive the particulate material from the metering device, the plurality of outlets further configured to dispense an amount of the particulate material to mid-rows between crop rows on a field, the mid-rows comprising an outermost mid-row and at least one other mid-row, the plurality of outlets dispensing half the amount of particulate material to the outermost mid-row compared to the amount of particulate material dispensed to the at least one other mid-row. 
 
     
     
       7. The spreader of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of outlets comprises at least one outermost outlet that dispenses the particulate material to the outermost mid-row, and the spreader further comprises a boom transversely extendible in a direction substantially non-parallel to a direction of travel of the spreader and substantially non-perpendicular to the field, the boom having thereon the at least one outermost outlet. 
     
     
       8. The spreader of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one other mid-row comprises a center mid-row situated on a travel line of the spreader, and the metering device comprises first and second independently controllable metering elements, the first metering element configured to deliver half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row and the second metering element configured to deliver half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row. 
     
     
       9. The spreader of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the outermost mid-row comprises a first outermost mid-row situated on a first side of the spreader and a second outermost mid-row situated on a second side of the spreader; 
 the at least one other mid-row comprises a center mid-row situated over a travel line of the spreader; 
 the spreader further comprises a first boom and a second boom, the first boom transversely extendible on the first side of the spreader in a direction substantially non-parallel to a direction of travel of the spreader and substantially non-perpendicular to the field, the second boom transversely extendible on the second side of the spreader in a direction substantially non-parallel to a direction of travel of the spreader and substantially non-perpendicular to the field; 
 the plurality of outlets comprises at least one first outermost outlet situated on the first boom and at least one second outermost outlet situated on the second boom, the at least one first outermost outlet dispensing half the amount of particulate material to the first outermost mid-row, the at least one second outermost outlet dispensing half the amount of the particulate material to the second outermost mid-row; and, 
 the metering device comprises first and second independently controllable metering elements, the first metering element configured to deliver half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row and the second metering element configured to deliver half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row. 
 
     
     
       10. The spreader of  claim 9 , wherein the first metering element comprises: an apron that receives the particulate material from the hopper; and, a gate box having a plurality of gates therein that receive the particulate material from the apron, wherein one of the plurality of gates delivers half the amount of particulate material to the at least one first outermost outlet. 
     
     
       11. The spreader of  claim 10 , wherein the gate that delivers the particulate material to the at least one first outermost outlet also delivers the particulate material to at least one center outlet to dispense half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row. 
     
     
       12. The spreader of  claim 10 , wherein the second metering element is constructed as the first metering element, and the second metering element is configured to deliver the particulate material to the at least one second outermost outlet. 
     
     
       13. The spreader of  claim 12 , wherein the second metering element is configured to deliver the particulate material to the at least one center outlet to dispense half the amount of particulate material to the center mid-row. 
     
     
       14. The spreader of  claim 10 , wherein the apron comprises an endless belt. 
     
     
       15. The spreader of  claim 10 , wherein the apron comprises a set of meter rollers. 
     
     
       16. The spreader of  claim 6 , further comprising a plurality of air lines and a blower configured to transport the particulate material from the metering device to the plurality of outlets. 
     
     
       17. A method of applying particulate material to a field using a boom spreader, the method comprising:
 driving a boom spreader in a first direction along a first driving line in a first swath of a field planted with a crop, the field comprising a plurality of mid-rows between a plurality of crop rows, the mid-rows in the first swath comprising first and second outermost mid-rows and at least one mid-row between the first and second outermost mid-rows, the boom spreader comprising a plurality of transversely spaced-apart outlets through which a particulate material is applied to the mid-rows, the plurality of transversely spaced-apart outlets comprising first and second outermost outlets configured to apply the particulate material to the first and second outermost mid-rows and at least one inner outlet configured to apply the particulate material to the at least one mid-row between the first and second outermost mid-rows; 
 applying a particulate material to the first and second outermost mid-rows in an amount that is half an amount of the particulate material applied to the at least one mid-row between the first and second outermost mid-rows; 
 driving the boom spreader along a second driving line in a second swath of the field in a second direction opposite the first direction, the second swath comprising the second outermost mid-row, a third outermost midrow and at least one mid-row between the second and third outermost mid-rows, the first and second outermost outlets configured to apply the particulate material to the second and third outermost mid-rows and the at least one inner outlet configured to apply the particulate material to the at least one mid-row between the second and third outermost mid-rows; and, 
 applying the particulate material to the second and third outermost mid-rows in an amount that is about half an amount of the particulate material applied to the at least one mid-row between the second and third outermost mid-rows, 
 the second outermost mid-row thereby receiving the same amount of the particulate material as the at least one mid-row between the first and second outermost mid-rows of the first swath and the same amount of the particulate material as the at least one mid-row between the second and third outermost mid-rows of the second swath. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the boom spreader comprises:
 at least one innermost outlet configured to apply the particulate material to the at least one mid-row on the driving line between the outermost mid-rows; 
 first and second booms transversely extendible over the field on either side of the spreader,
 the first boom comprising the first outermost outlet and at least one other outlet between the first outermost outlet and the at least one innermost outlet; 
 the second boom comprising the second outermost outlet and at least one other outlet between the second outermost outlet and the at least one innermost outlet; and, 
 
 a metering device comprising first and second independently controllable metering elements, 
 the first metering element delivering the particulate material to the outlets on the first boom and the at least one innermost outlet, the first outermost outlet and the innermost outlet receiving half the amount of particulate material as the at least one other outlet, 
 the second metering element delivering the particulate material to the outlets on the second boom and the at least one innermost outlet, the second outermost outlet and the innermost outlet receiving half the amount of particulate material as the at least one other outlet. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising switching off the first metering element when the first boom is over a portion of the field, which has already received the particulate material or which is not intended to receive the particulate material.